History of Sexuality

In this online course, we will consider the impact of social, economic, and political conditions on social constructions of sexuality, from the classical world of Greece and Rome, to the early modern West, to the streets of Victorian London and 1920s New York. Our readings will explore a host of different topics, including the eugenics movement, race, ethnicity, and class in the US and Europe; the cultural influences of burlesque, the blues, pin up girls, and speakeasies on the evolution of sexual roles in the early 20th century; the development of homosexual, bisexual, and queer identities across time and place; and the importance of sexual roles and hierarchies in colonial and postcolonial societies. Students will be expected to participate actively in live class discussions and threaded discussions, lead two class discussions, write weekly blogs, complete two response papers and a longer paper (a review essay, a research paper, or a piece of creative non-fiction), and develop a group presentation with a PPT for the final class.